Using A Sexy Video Game Avatar Makes Women Objectify Themselves

When we don a virtual reality avatar, our real-life behavior can change, too. Like, for example, when people embody a tall avatar, they have a
tendency to act more confidently. It's called the Proteus Effect. And according to a study from Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab,
it's the reason overly sexualized portrayals of women in video games are terrible. According to this research, women who embody sexualized avatars
are more likely to objectify themselves, and more likely to say that rape is the victim's fault. (Always worth noting: It's not.)

How the researchers explain the phenomenon:
Possibly, the sexualized self might have triggered a form of self-defense; that is, participants might have attributed blame to rape victims because
they did not want to imagine themselves in a similar situation. Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) argued that women might perpetuate rape myths to justify
why victims were raped and thus 'reaffirm an individual’s false sense of security that they are somehow immune to rape.' Another possibility is
that seeing the suggestively dressed self might have triggered memories of being told by a parent or authority figure that dressing in such a manner
was 'asking for it,' resulting in a sense of blame.

OK, I'm going to say that as a gamer myself, this reeks of bovine excrement. No video game theme and no video game character ever has, or ever will,
alter my beliefs on the spot like this study supposedly shows. I am not that pliable as a human being. I'm also smart enough to fully
understand & damn well know that a video game is a created environment for entertainment, not reality, and not an accurate reflection of
reality. I know that there are people who get sucked into those game worlds and become obsessive and/or try to have life mirror that world, but I'm
looking at this from the general player standpoint, not that extreme far-end of the spectrum.

All I've got to say about it is if a scantily clad character is going to make you more accepting to some heinous act, you aren't that smart to begin
with. It's not a game's fault if you aren't as solid in your ethics as you'd have others believe, or if you have questionable ethics to begin with
(or none at all) This strikes me as one of the most blatant upholdings of side-stepping personal responsibility I've ever seen. You are responsible
for what you think, no one else. Don't blame the other guy/girl because you don't want to admit you suck as a person.

I can see how the study might make a person objectify themselves more, through comparing themselves to an in-game character, but agree that women
aren't more likely to allow themselves to be raped because they play video games with scantily clad women.

I agree with you opinion on this matter. Using an avatar is like wearing clothes, true there are some that adopt a certain persona to go with it, but
most people just wear because they serve a functional purpose or because they enjoy it. At the end of the day, people usually take those clothes off

, same goes for avatars.

The more shocking of the information here is the prospect of female gamers

I'm not a 'gamer', but just speaking generally: I've never noticed it changing the attitude of the person using the 'sexy' avatar, but it can
definitely change the behavior of those who interact with that person. They may not even realize it.

On sites such as this one for example, people often tend to be nicer to someone using an attractive female avatar.

I don't play much online poker, but I have in the past. I actually tried a little experiment that I found quite amusing. It's not gonna work every
time, but it did make a difference. It was much easier to pull off a big bluff when using an attractive female avatar.(and even more so if it's like a
petite blonde)

ETA: By the way, I'm a guy. It was kinda creepy(but funny), when other guys would start flirting with me, just because I was using a female avatar.

I'm not a 'gamer', but just speaking generally: I've never noticed it changing the attitude of the person using the 'sexy' avatar, but it can
definitely change the behavior of those who interact with that person. They may not even realize it.

On sites such as this one for example, people often tend to be nicer to someone using an attractive female avatar.

I don't play much online poker, but I have in the past. I actually tried a little experiment that I found quite amusing. It's not gonna work every
time, but it did make a difference. It was much easier to pull off a big bluff when using an attractive female avatar.(and even more so if it's like
a petite blonde)

So true!! LOL!! But, I realized it! If you can...read that book, "Ready Player One", that poor guy fell head over heels for this female avatar that
was playing the game against him (one of many opponents to win a billion bucks) ..

Is "objectify" really a word? If a woman says a man looks good, is he then "objectified." The whole idea is around simply to vilify men. It is
well known that men are attracted by sight and women are attracted by situation. A man is sexually attracted to a woman because of how she LOOKS, not
what books she has read. And it is perfectly natural and appropriate. Women who look "good," i.e.: are sexually attractive, are more likely to be
able to have and nurture healthy children. Men who are big, powerful, aggressive, and macho are more likely to be able to protect a woman and her
family from the Bad Guys(tm) elsewhere. That is also perfectly natural.

But in our mixed up culture men are said to be bad if they dare to think a woman is sexy and good looking. She is therefore "objectified." No, we
men do not like you because you read good books. And we can't help it just because we can urinate standing up and you have to sit down. Telling us to
sit down is not going to make the world equal for you.

So get over it. It's not going to happen. Men are never going to become cuddly little care bears to make women like them, mostly because women will
chose the aggressive macho guy anyway. In other words, it doesn't pay, and nobody can help it if you're ugly or scrawny. Those are bets made with
DNA, so if you are ugly, that's who you'll wind up with.

I think we sporadically forget that the avatars aren't real, and since we're hardwired to respond to humans, and especially attractive ones, in social
environments, it's like forgetting that you're online & going about the interaction like you would in person. I've seen people do it, too. I'm not
bothered often in games, it's usually in PvE queues where I do the most chatting (coordinating strategies & placements, idle chatter in lulls, etc)
For context, I play Star Trek Online, and it's a myriad of avatars and interactions all around. I think it mostly depends on the ages on the
players, too. Older folks don't tend to be too bothersome or chatty in-game, but the younger ones, teens and twenty-somethings, sometimes approach
attractive players in public areas. Most often, it's a simple "Buzz Off" in the zone chat that gets them laughed out of the instance. So yeah, I don't
discount that attractive avs get attention. If it were a real life grouping, I doubt it would go much differently with the attractive people.

And I concur, it's like clothes to me, but my 4 Trek avs are all clothed as best possible (full uniforms, with the acception of my Orion, who gets
tattered pants & a tattered top---she's an opportunist raider, hard life) When I log out of the game, that's like taking those "clothes" off, for the
most part. They're not necessarily me or extensions of me in-game, but since I did create them with my tastes in mind, they have elements of me in how
they're dressed.

And to the PP who said we're like unicorns. You'd be surprised, man. If the boobs are huge, it's typically a guy gamer. If a girl wants to not be
noticed, she's usually one of the male avatars

Avatars are designed to project an image, of ourselves, that we want people to see. The avatar sends a message to anyone who's coming across our
activity. The sexy female avatars that women use most definitely objectify women. The avatar is basically saying "this is how you should see
me."

It's why you don't see too many Bea Arthur or Rebel Wilson avatars.

The key is for the viewer to not make assumptions about a member simply because their avatar is a hot cartoon.

While not a gamer (or unicorn) myself, I do agree that donning an avatar with a strong personna of any kind says something about the individual behind
it. Why, just look at my ATS avatar. It says something, doesn't it? Doesn't it? DOESN'T IT!!??

I would agree with this. The avatar is the mid-haven of the electronic world. This is the same is the mask most people wear in their every day lives.

This is not necessarily a bad thing though. If we consider that the avatar is an image of choice, rather than the mask of conformity of the real
world. then by selecting an avatar that is "sexy" that person is revealing something of their inner person. Not necessarily that they long to look
like that. For instance I do not go around dressed like an 19th century man about town, but it does say something of the person I feel I am inside.

Therefore if we see a person with a strikingly attractive avatar, a superficial outlook perhaps comes from the mind of the viewer rather than the
viewee.

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